Green party candidate to appear in court today after arrest at protest
Penticton woman who ran in B.C. election under Green party banner charged after protesting Trans Mountain project
Protesting the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project has earned a Penticton woman a date with a judge today in Vancouver.
Connie Sahlmark, who represented the Green party in the 2017 provincial election, was arrested March 24 outside a Kinder Morgan pipeline facility in Burnaby, where hundreds of other protesters have also been hauled away by police for violating a civil court injunction.
The self-employed sustainable construction consultant said she travelled to the protest on her own on principle against the controversial pipeline project, which would transport diluted bitumen from Alberta to the coast for export to Asia.
“It’s just wrong on so many levels. We know that global warming is real and we have climate commitments, yet we keep increasing fossil fuel exports,” said Sahlmark.
“And if it was about jobs, we’d do the refining here — we’re making someone else rich.”
She’s further concerned that ramming the pipeline through over the objections of some First Nations would set back reconciliation efforts in Canada.
Sahlmark and the others — including federal Green Leader Elizabeth May — were all charged with civil contempt of court, but the B.C. Prosecution Service announced this week it is considering elevating them to criminal charges, convictions for which attract a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $100 fine.
With Sahlmark flying the flag, the Greens collected 18 per cent of the popular vote in the Penticton riding in the 2017 election, good for third place.
Liberal Dan Ashton won the riding with 53 per cent of the popular vote, while Tarik Sayeed of the NDP placed second.